The use of search engines to locate information has become a commonplace occurrence for users of personal computers and mobile devices, such as smart phones, tablet computers and the like. For example, popular search engines enable the users to locate practically any kind of information that is available via the Internet. Conventionally, a browser is used to access an Internet-based search engine, and once the user is connected to the site of the search engine, a query can be entered to locate information of interest. In response to the entry of the query, the search engine returns a listing of Internet websites, and/or resources accessible via the Internet, that are relevant to the search query.
In addition to Internet websites, other sources of information may be relevant to the user's query. For example, if the user is looking for an applet to use on a mobile device, rather than employing an Internet search engine, the user might launch a browser that is specifically associated with an online applet store. Within this browser, the user can enter information that is relevant to the type of applet being sought, e.g. “currency converter,” and in response the browser returns a listing of all of the applets in the online store that are relevant to this topic. In this scenario, to find multiple types of information that are relevant to currency conversion, the user is required to perform multiple searches, namely one that looks for relevant websites on the Internet, and another that specifically searches applets in an online store. The first search is global in nature, in that it may be capable of searching all publicly available websites on the Internet, but does not provide non-website information. The second search is more localized in nature, since it is directed to the products in a specific applet store, and may return results that are more pertinent to the user's particular area of interest. A more desirable user experience could be provided if the user is able to obtain information from both of these sources via a single search.